Introduction
The more complex a software system is and the longer a software system evolves, the more difficult it is to avoid effects like software architecture erosion or architectural drifts. These effects can lead to systems where the realization of the system diverges from the intended architecture with resultant negative impacts on quality attributes associated with the intended architecture. As studies have shown, untreated divergence can lead to systems which are impossible to maintain in the long run. Expensive redevelopments and replacements are the consequences.
Studies suggest that software architecture erosion and architectural drift, and the inconsistencies resulting from these effects, are prevalent, yet under-researched problems in industrial practice. Technical challenges related to these problems are the recovery of intended architectures, particularly for legacy systems without documented intended architecture prone to erosion; detection of erosion, drift, and inconsistencies; and avoiding or resolving the results of these effects efficiently. However, also organizational challenges like estimating the benefit of putting effort into pro-actively avoiding or resolving erosion play an important role in practice.
In recent years, researchers from different communities like software maintenance, model-driven development, and software architecture have investigated many aspects of software architecture erosion from different perspectives. The goal of the “Ninth Workshop on Software Architecture Erosion and Architectural Consistency (SAEroCon)”
is to intensify the exchange of ideas regarding the current state-of-the-art/the state-of-the-practice and future research directions regarding architecture consistency, architecture recovery and restoration and ways to prevent and mitigate against architecture erosion. The workshop targets all software engineering researchers and practitioners interested in discussing ideas regarding these topics and shaping future research related to them.
We are looking forward to seeing you at the workshop!
SAEroCon - The 9th Workshop on Software Architecture Erosion and Architectural Consistency 